Leadership & Career

Make customer service superior

February 1, 2004
“It’s a fact of business life,” writes professional speaker, consultant, and customer-service expert Peggy Morrow. “To keep your competitive edge, you must be constantly upgrading the quality of the service you offer.” That’s true regardless of what kind of “customer” you have or what kind of “service” you provide.

Overcoming the ‘seven deadly workplace sins’

January 1, 2004
“Working Wounded” columnist Bob Rosner, former Workforce editor Allan Halcrow and cartoonist John Lavin detail in their book Gray Matters: The Workplace Survival Guide “the seven deadly workplace sins” and practical ways to overcome them.

Work Technology: A dog’s-eye view of software upgrades

December 1, 2003
A recent article in Computerworld caught our attention — “All I Know About Software Upgrades I Learned From My Dog.” The author, consultant Rebecca Wettemann of Nucleus Research, discusses the challenges of determining whether an upgrade provides real return on investment — using a metaphor every pet owner can appreciate.

Are you a boss or a buddy?

August 1, 2001
Every manager must decide how much to get involved in employees’ personal lives. Show concern for workers’ personal lives; just don’t get too enmeshed.

How much do you know about what you don’t know?

March 1, 2001
Part of knowledge management is figuring out what your team still needs to learn.

Finish that back-burner project

February 1, 2001
If you’re trying to get to a project that’s on the back burner, don’t just put it down on your to-do list.

How disciplined are you? A self-assessment

January 1, 2001
Self-discipline is an essential component of leadership, but many of us would say we’re not as disciplined as we’d like to be. Take this quiz and assess your strengths and weaknesses.

Get the most from your temps

June 1, 1998
Some managers hire temps and then pray that the newcomers don’t get too far behind or make too many mistakes. But there’s a better way.

Got the smarts? Don’t rub it in

December 1, 1997
Convinced you’re smarter than just about everyone else at work? You may be right, but don’t get carried away. Your intelligence can work for or against you.

Enliven your training sessions

December 1, 1997
If your training sessions are nothing more than lectures, your audience just may fall asleep before you’re through. Kick those sessions up a notch with these techniques